Ipsy Glam Bag Review - August 2014 - Beauty Subscription Bag

My August Ipsy bag shipped August 8 and arrived August 14. Pretty good Ipsy! Normally I try not to peek at spoilers in advance of receiving my bag. Unfortunately this month, there was a very vocal minority on various social media sites expressing disappointment and anger towards the August offerings. I checked my Glam Room to see what I was getting and try to figure out what all the fuss was about. From what I can gather, sample size is the biggest issue. Many of the samples are very small, so some assume this means low value. Let's take a look at what I received and see if the August Ipsy bag is worth the cost. All price estimates are in US dollars and sources are linked.

The theme for August is "Beauty Schooled".

Learn the rules, so that you can break them. This month, you'll discover
that you'll never stop learning - especially, when it comes to the
world of beauty. With everything from styling skills, application
techniques, to channeling your inner confidence and uniqueness... With
the help of ipsy and your August Glam Bag, you're about to get
"schooled."

The bag... not a fan. I hate these plastic-y, rounded bags. I always end up tossing them into the donation pile.

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara (3ml, $5.60)Bigger. Blacker. Badder. Urban Decay's ultra-creamy, lengthening
and volumizing mascara features triple-black pigments and a deeply
nourishing ingredient blend. Perversion Mascara gets you sexy in one
stroke, yet it won’t quit until you say when.
This is a new product to the Urban Decay line, released in June. Ipsy has been great for including new products. I have it listed on my swap/sell board because I have way too many mascara samples. A full size is 11.8ml for $22, available at Sephora.

Absolute New York Lip Balm in Grape (12g, $2.99)Treat your lips with this ultra-moisturizing lip balm from Absolute New
York. This lightly tinted, creamy, conditioning formula softens,
smooths, and protects lips for a seriously kissable pout. Discover this
must-have balm for sensationally soft and luscious lips!
This balm smells fabulous. The site linked through Ipsy does not ship to Canada, so if you want more, check Amazon. A full size is a two-balm set for $5.99 (or $4.99 on Amazon).

Lord & Berry SILK Kajal Kohl Eye Liner (0.6g, $6.40)Sensual and exotic, that's the effect that Silk Kajal Kohl Eye Pencil
delivers. Just like the traditional Kohl, but with the modern ease and
control of a pencil. Giving a semi-matte finish that is also smudgeable,
Silk Kajal Kohl's soft tip is ophthalmologically-tested and gentle
enough to be used on the inner eye.
Yup. This little nubbin is worth more than $6! It is just about a third smaller than the full size (2.5 x smaller to be exact). A full size is 1.5g for $16 and available at various sources online including Amazon, Lord & Berry, and Asos. I prefer liquid liners so this one was sold on my swap/sell board.

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner (7.5ml, $11.25)A cult favorite, pores no more pore refiner
primer is Dr. Brandt’s quick fix for flawless, photo-ready skin. It is
the miracle base to create the perfect skin canvas for long-lasting
makeup and well-preserved skin. This velvety formula absorbs excess oil,
minimizes pores, blurs fine lines and is resistant to
sweat and humidity. Prime, touch-up and treat while perfecting your
makeup. A full size is 30ml for $45, available through Sephora and Dr. Brandt.

Coastal Scents Forever Blush Sample Duo (2.5g, $1.99)Coastal Scents Forever Blush boasts 18 perfectly pigmented, powder
blushes with a long-lasting rush of color. Complete with a mirror, these
color-packed compacts go a long way.
This is a pretty small sample, but still bigger than that awful blush sample that The Balm sent out a while ago. A full size is 10g for $7.95 and comes in a compact with a mirror.Available from Coastal Scents and Amazon.

My August Ipsy Glam Bag included five products, valued at $28.23 US. I paid $14.95 for this bag ($10 plus $4.95 shipping), so the value is just under double the price paid. It's certainly not the best value bag I've received from Ipsy, but it's still worth more than I paid. The samples are small, compared to some products Ipsy has included in the past, but they are industry standard sample sizes. All are 1/4 or 1/3 of the full size product, and a few of them hold a great deal of value. I guess we've become so accustomed to receiving full size products from Ipsy that it's disappointing when a month comes and we don't receive any.

I'm actually happy with the bag I received. I will use the pore refiner and lip balm. I posted the blush, mascara, and eyeliner on my swap/sell board. I would be happy to keep the mascara, but I currently have so many samples, there is no way I can use them all in a reasonable amount of time. The eyeliner is nice, but I prefer liquid over pencil. The blush is a pass because I don't wear it often and these ones aren't my colours. So while these products don't work for me, they are still great products.

What did you receive in your August Ipsy bag?

Comments are now closed for this post. Please e-mail me with any comments or questions.

This was my first month with ipsy and I didn't realize there was a lot of displeasure with the products his month. I really liked my bag and when I looked at all the products offered in the August bag I feel like I really lucked out. I would have loved some glamglow though!

i'm generally a 'hey, it's a sample bag' kind of girl, but this is the 3rd mascara sample is as many months, which i excluded from my desired list, an organic 'chapstick' type lip product that smells like oddly like creamsicles, a mini can of dry shampoo, another product category excluded, a flesh toned $3 eye shadow and some so-so primer. I think people where a little justified this month for being underwhelmed.

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